KILL BILL: VOL. 1 (2003)

MORGAN'S RATING

In this film noir tale, an assassin called The Bride is shot down, with child, by her employer, Bill and other members of their assassin circle, at her wedding (along with everyone else there). She, however, survives, though a bullet in her brain keeps her in a coma for five years. When she awakens, she sets out to seek revenge and hunts down the various members of the assassin group, globetrotting to kill them each in order, saving Bill for last.

Uma Thurman (The Bride/Black Mamba), David Carradine (Bill), Lucy Liu (O-Ren Ishii/Cottonmouth), Daryl Hannah (Elle Driver/California Mountain Snake), Vivica A. Fox (Vernita Green/Copperhead), Michael Madsen (Budd / Sidewinder), Michael Parks (Sheriff), Sonny Chiba (Hattori Hanzo), Chiaki Kuriyama (Go Go Fatale), Julie Dreyfus (Sofie Fatale), Chia Hui Liu (Johnny Mo), Jun Kunimura (Boss Tanaka), Kazuki Kitamura (Boss Koji), Akaji Maro (Boss Ozawa), Larry Bishop (Larry), Michael Bowen (Buck), Laura Cayouette, Julie Manase (Crazy 88 fighter), Chris Nelson (The Groom), Kenji Ohba (Sushi bar assistant).

HERE COMES THE BRIDE.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction). WRITERS: Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman. PRODUCER: Lawrence Bender.  ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: Koko Maeda and Dede Nickerson. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Erica Steinberg, E. Bennett Walsh, Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein. ORIGINAL MUSIC: RZA and D.A. Young (additional music). DISTRIBUTOR: Miramax Films.

QUOTES

FACTS

The Bride: Those of you lucky enough to have your lives take them with you! However, leave the limbs you've lost. They belong to me now.

RELEASE DATE: October 10th, 2003 (USA) DVD RELEASE DATE: April 13th, 2004 (USA) BOX OFFICE OPENING: $22.0 million (USA) BOX OFFICE RESULT: $69.8 million* (USA) BUDGET: $55 million (USA) SHOOTING DATES: June 2002 -- March 2003 - Christopher Allen Nelson, who worked on the special effects, revealed in interviews that over 450 gallons of fake blood was used on the two Kill Bill movies. - Quentin Tarantino delayed the start of the production because Uma Thurman was pregnant. - Warren Beatty was originally offered the role of Bill. Kevin Costner was considered for the title role also, but he turned it down to do Open Range (2003) instead. - Uma Thurman was offered the script for this film, and her role as "The Bride", as a 30th Birthday present from Quentin Tarantino. - The closing title card, "Based on the character of 'The Bride' created by Q & U is an obvious reference to Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman. The opening title card reads "the fourth film by Quentin Tarantino". According to an interview with Newsweek's David Hansen, Tarantino does not believe this has ever been done in a movie before. - Uma Thurman's yellow track-suit is a direct homage to the one worn by Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978). - Part of the movie was shot at the legendary Shaw Bros. studio in Hong Kong. Tarantino has seen so many movies made at the studio that he felt it was important for him to work there. - During production, Tarantino wrote new scenes as he shot thus compiling massive amounts of footage. - The Tokyo miniature sets were leftovers from the then most recent Godzilla film in 2001. - The movie was conceived during the filming of Pulp Fiction (1994) when Tarantino would constantly tell the actress that would become the film's tagline: "Uma Thurman will Kill Bill!" - The masks worn by the Crazy 88 gang are homage to Kato's mask in "The Green Hornet" (1966). - The black & white photgraphy is an homage to 70s and 80s US television airings of kung fu movies. Black and white, and also black and red, were used to hide the shedding of blood from television censors. - Followed by a sequel: Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)

The Bride: It was not my intention to do this in front of you For that I'm sorry. But you can take my word for it, your mother had it coming. When you grow up, if you still feel raw about it, I'll be waiting.

Go-Go Yubari: You cann that begging? You can beg better than that.

Hattori Hanzo: I can tell you with no ego that this is my finest blade. If, on your journey, you should encounter God, God will be cut.

Hattori Hanzo: You must have big rats, if you need Hattori Hanzo steel ... The Bridge: ...huge ones.

O-Ren Ishii: You didn't think it was gonna be that easy, did you? The Bridge: You know, for a second there, yeah, I kinda did. O-Ren Ishii: Silly rabbit. The Bride: Trix are for ... O-Ren Ishii: ... kids.

O-Ren Ishii: Silly Caucasian girl likes to play with Samurai swords.

Budd: That woman deserves her revenge and we deserve to die.

[To the comatose Bride] Elle Driver: Don't you ever wake up!

Elle Driver: If you ever take your ass out of this damn bed for as long as you fuckin live, I will beat it into the ground, bitch!

CRITICAL COMMENTS

"Murder to sit through despite some spectacular fights and a terrific Uma Thurman." -- Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"...gripping pop art." -- Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

"The movie is not about anything at all except the skill and humor of its making. It's kind of brilliant." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times

"...no one combines tension and release, violence and humor, dialogue and action and music and pictures the way Tarantino does." -- Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune

"The movie feels incomplete..." -- Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter